The Silent Gondoliers: A Novel

I read this shortly after The Princess Bride came out as a movie. Another good read from William Goldman. I'm giving this copy as a Christmas gift.

While I was surprised at how quick a read this was (I got through it in two lunch breaks at work) it was still an enthralling read. Goldman has the ability to let you feel his characters in only a few lines and this is no exception. By the time I reached the end I felt as emotionally invested in the hero as I did when reading the Princess Bride. I have noticed other people have given this book low marks solely because it "isn't the Princess Bride". While I agree the Princess Bride is by far the better book I feel it is unfair to dismiss this book as poor based on the comparison. It would be like saying The Hobbit was a 1 star book because The Lord Of The Rings was better.

Goldman writes this novella with the same irreverant style he used for "The Princess Bride." It's a cute little story about a man who loves to sing but is so horrible that the entire city of Venice pelts him with garbage.It flashes back and forth through the decades of the twentieth century and tells a cute little story but never quite achieves the grandeur of Goldman's other works.As a stand alone book it doesn't really hold up, it might have been better as an extra in yet another version of Bride. For my money I felt there should have been more.

I enjoyed "The Pricess Bride" very much. I liked the style. I liked the story. It was a lot of fun.I like "The Silent Gondoliers" better. It has a zany style like The Princess Bride, and it has an amusing story, and it's fun to read. I found it more than that, though. Luigi comes across as a real human being. I found his struggles to deal with life heartwarming as well as amusing. Not that the book is serious and moralizing, though. It's not heavy, it's fun.I liked the short length too. I think it's just right for this story, and I enjoyed being able to read it in an afternoon. I didn't time myself, but I think it took me between two and three hours, maybe less. My wife read it in an hour, and she liked it too.

While not as great as "The Princess Bride," (seriously, that book is a satiric masterpiece that's hard to beat), this was a delightful read. Mr. Goldman manages to blend his satire with humor and poignancy, not to mention the crisp and clear writing. I would read anything written by him.Now please, please, PRETTY PLEASE publish "Buttercup's Baby" for your fans!!!

Short, interesting read. It's actually been a really long time since I read it, but I still remember basically what happens, and that I really enjoyed it. I've lent it to a bunch of people who've also liked it. It's by the same guy as wrote The Princess Bride and Marathon Man, too, so what's not to like? Goldman knows his way around a story.

A fun read from "S. Morgenstern." Wish Goldman would have written more novels like this (and Princess Bride). I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every moment of it.

I have read many books on my kindle, although there are some I have yet to finish. This book, however, was not listed for kindle, but I have read Princess Bride, and enjoyed it, and previewed the first pages of this book and think while it isn't as thick of a book as Princess Bride, it seems to have the same humorous outlook on many things.

A short and melancholy book, I still enjoyed it though do not expect any of the fun of "The Princess Bride".

more a novella than a novel and what worked in the princess bride doesn't really work here

A charming little novella, NOT A BOOK and one that is best appreciated if you have already read The Princess Bride by the same author.